New at PBL

I have been an educator for 12 years and I love this idea about PBL! But where do you start? I teach third grade so there are many different subjects to branch off on, which can seem overwhelming. Does anyone have any good advice, activities, workshops?

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Hi Kathie,
Here are a few suggestions to help you get started.
For your first projects, it's wise to start small. Focus on one content goal and perhaps one "soft skill" (such as collaboration), and see how it goes. Don't be afraid to lean on others for help and inspiration. Collaboration is at the heart of good PBL, and that's true for teachers as well as students. Think about borrowing or adapting a project that's already classroom-tested to give yourself a head start on planning.
If you haven't spent time in a PBL classroom before, explore the Edutopia videos to get a close-up look at what teaching and learning look like in this context. (The series "Project Learning in Maine" is full of good suggestions: http://www.edutopia.org/stw-maine-pbl)
There's a self-guided course at the Buck Institute for Education (http://www.bie.org/diy), along with a series of webinars on specific aspects of PBL (http://www.bie.org/videos/cat/webinars).
And if you're looking for assessment strategies, be sure to download the free classroom guide: http://www.edutopia.org/10-tips-assessment-project-based-learning-resour...
Be sure to follow up with specific questions for this community. Lots of wisdom in this group!
Good luck!